Computer Concepts and Terminology

Hardware

Links to topics on this page:

The term hardware refers
to the physical components of the computer system (as opposed to the
software). Your computer hardware will consist of the devices within
the case of the computer itself, and any peripheral
devices that
are connected to the computer (such as the mouse and keyboard).

The primary component of the computer is
the motherboard (also called the main
circuit board, main logic board, mainboard, or systemboard). The
motherboard is a large printed circuit board with microchips, connectors,
and other components mounted on it, and with copper circuitry traces
that connect the components together.

Additional information about the parts listed above can be found in
the other sections of this tutorial. Along with the motherboard, the
case of your computer typically contains a power supply (to
convert the AC line current from the wall outlet to the low-voltage DC
current used by the computer) and several storage devices located in
the expansion bays of the case (such as: hard
drives, floppy drives, Zip drives, and CD drives, and DVD drives).

Configurations and Specifications

When you go to purchase a computer (either
online or at a computer store) you will have several system configurations
to choose from. Each configuration includes
a particular set of parts or components (both hardware and software)
in a specific arrangement. A similar term, architecture,
also describes the layout and interactions of the components of a computer
system.

Each system configuration will have a specification that
lists the details about the components included in that particular system.
Below you will see a typical computer system specification; look it over
carefully. By the time you finish with all the parts of this tutorial,
you should be able to explain all of the terminology in this specification:

Whew! What does all that mean? Read the
other parts of this tutorial (processors, memory, input/output, storage,
ports, and net/telecom) to find out. (The terms in italics in the specifications
list above are brand names that you don’t need to know).